Lisa McKnight is Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer of Mattel. She joined Mattel in 1998. In her current role, Ms. McKnight oversees all of Mattel’s toy categories and global brands including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, and American Girl, as well as design and development across the entire portfolio.

Ms. McKnight has held several senior leadership positions at Mattel over 25 years, including the global head of Barbie since 2016 and Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls since 2019, where she oversaw the entire Dolls portfolio for Mattel, and led a global team in brand strategy, product development, and marketing execution. Prior to leading Barbie in 2016, Ms. McKnight was the SVP of Marketing for North America, working across the Mattel portfolio.

Credited with leading the transformation of Barbie, under Ms. McKnight’s leadership, Barbie was the #1 Global Toy Property for 2020 and 2021 and the #1 Global Doll Property for 2020 through 2022. She led the charge in scaling the Barbie brand by nearly 2X, with Barbie enjoying its highest growth in sales in more than two decades in 2021.

Most recently, Ms. McKnight led a critical effort to further recontextualize the Barbie brand for the next generation, partnering closely with Warner Bros, Atlantic Records, and filmmakers of BARBIE to bring the record-breaking film to life. She spearheaded an award-winning best-in-class marketing campaign for Mattel to support Barbie’s big screen debut, bringing the story of the Barbie brand to life through a new lens. The film grossed more than $1.44 billion at the worldwide box office, breaking the record for the highest-grossing film from a female director, the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros’ 100-year history, and the biggest film of 2023.

Ms. McKnight also led the charge in defining Barbie’s global social mission with the Barbie Dream Gap Project launch in 2018, a multi-year initiative dedicated to leveling the playing field for every girl. Since its launch, the program has impacted over 25 million girls.

Ms. McKnight has driven the significant expansion of Mattel’s portfolio, including winning back the licensing rights to the Disney Princess and Disney Frozen franchise, as well as Universal’s top entertainment properties, including Trolls.

Prior to Mattel, Ms. McKnight held agency advertising roles supporting clients like Taco Bell and Fairmont Hotels before transitioning to a marketing role at Gap, Inc.

Ms. McKnight is currently on the Board of Directors of the ANA and has served on the boards of MAKERS Women and the Toy Industry Foundation, with a focus on the DE&I committee, and was previously the executive sponsor of Women of Mattel employee resource group. Ms. McKnight is a member of Women in Toys, through which she serves as a mentor to women in the toy, licensing, and entertainment industries. In 2023, she was presented with the Trailblazer award from Women in Toys, recognizing her dedication to uplifting women in the industry and breaking boundaries for the next generation.

Ms. McKnight is a frequent guest speaker at conferences such as the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Advertising Week, Fast Company Innovation Festival, WFA Global Marketer Conference, Fortune Most Powerful Women, Most Contagious Summit, and The Gathering Summit, which welcomed Barbie as a cult brand in 2021. Forbes, Campaign US, and Insider recognized Ms. McKnight as one of the top brand marketers in the world for 2023.

Ms. McKnight received a Bachelor of Arts from Denison University.